Big, Scary Alien
by StorytellerKnight
Summary: She had only been on Atlantis a few days and was still terrified out of her mind when Ronon Dex came in needing stitches. Dr. Beckett was kind enough to dump the big, scary alien on her to patch up. Ronon/Keller pre-ship and eventual ship.
1. Impressions

_This is basically going to be a collection of tags to different episodes dealing with Ronon and Keller sorta getting to know each other up until Quarantine. __This one doesn't really tag an episode, but I am going to put Keller's arrival into Altantis around the middle of season two. I figure she must have been there quite a while if Weir felt so comfortable giving her the position of CMO. _

_Disclaimer: I'm only going to say this one: I don't own any of this and I'm not making money off of it. This is simply for fun._

* * *

She had never been more terrified in her entire life. The Gate- she had never seen anything like it before. Heck, a couple weeks ago she would have laughed if someone had told her about such a thing. But here she was, now on another planet in another galaxy trying to keep up as Dr. Beckett explained the complicated systems of an alien city to her. No big deal, right?

Wrong.

Dr. Jennifer Keller was on the verge of a breakdown.

She wanted to go home. She wanted to sleep in her own bed and look up at her galaxy's stars. She wanted to cook her own dinner with food she bought from the store instead of military rations. She wanted to go back to working in a hospital with her own supplies instead of these clearly alien ones. Unfortunately Atlantis wasn't willing to send anyone back through the gate right now and the Daedalus wasn't due back for another three months, unless something dire happened. Jennifer really hoped that nothing dire happened during her short stay on Atlantis.

At least she was starting to find solstice in her work. She had only been on Atlantis for a few days, so she didn't understand most of the systems yet, but she was learning. Dr. Beckett was a great teacher and an even better friend. He was always willing to stay up with her while she cried.

"Ah, no son. Not again," Dr. Beckett cried, and Jen couldn't help but look up from a blood sample she was testing. It was Ronon Dex, who as far as Jen could tell, lived in the infirmary because he was injured so often in sparing matches. This time it was a small cut on his cheek. Easy enough to fix with a stitch or two. "Who was it this time?"

"One of the marines," Ronon said easily, taking a seat on one of the medical bed. "They're getting better."

"So I see, lad," Beckett agreed. "Usually it's only Teyla or Colonel Sheppard who bang you up like this."

"Dr. Beckett," one of the lab assistance called, and the doctor sighed.

"Sorry son, but I've got to look at something," Beckett said to Ronon, doing a quick survey of the room. "Dr. Keller?"

"Who?" Ronon asked in disbelief as Beckett waved her over. Trying to make herself as small as possible, Jen inched her way over to the medical bed where the giant warrior sat.

"Dr. Keller," Beckett said. "She just arrived a few days ago, but she has already proven herself to be a fine doctor. So, she'll patch you up and then you can be on your way." Beckett gave them both a bright, cheery smile before disappear after the lab assistant.

For her part Jen tried to put on a brave front as she collected her supplies and prepped Ronon for the stitches. He watched her with an arrogant smirk, but he didn't say anything until she was about to push the needle through his cheek.

"You sure you want to do that?" he asked.

"What?" Jen asked, flinching a little from the roughness in his voice.

"You're shaking," he said. "I don't want you to make it worse."

She felt her temper flare for the first time since she had arrived in the city. She was a doctor, and helping people came before everything else. How dare he suggest that she was so terrified of everything that she couldn't do her job!

"I'm fine," she told him before sticking the needle through his cheek. He grimaced a little, but other than that he sat patiently through the procedure.

"Thanks," he said once she had tied off the stitches and covered the wound with gauze. He hopped off the medical bed without another word and left the infirmary, on the prowl for his next injure.

Jen watched him until the door shut behind him, before scowling and gathering up the supplies. She didn't even notice Dr. Beckett standing next to her until she had started back to her station. She jumped, and the good doctor chuckled.

"Easy lass," he said. "You'll never rest easy if you're jumping at shadows."

"I think that's reasonable, from what I've heard about shadows in this place," Jen replied, and Beckett laughed again.

"For the record, Dr. Keller," he said. "I think you're doing a fine job."

Jen felt her cheeks flush with pride. To hear that from a man who had been in the city from the beginning, a grizzled veteran compared to her, warmed her heart a little. Smiling, she ducked away from Beckett and went back to her lab station, content to work away the rest of the day in this strange city.


	2. Truimph

_This takes place in season two, a couple weeks or months after the first one. It also has no episode to go with it. _

* * *

Despite her hopes for a peaceful stay, Atlantis seemed to stumble upon a dire situation about as often as Ronon Dex came into the infirmary needing stitches. Still, none of the situations warranted the Daedalus coming to the rescue. So, Dr. Keller was forced to make the best of her stay in the alien city, and soon found herself falling into a routine.

She had started off her stay in Atlantis counting down the days till she could go home, but by the time the Daedalus actually arrived she had completely forgotten about her desire to leave. She had found a place for herself in Atlantis and she was actually, dare she think it, enjoying herself?

"Dr. Keller," Dr. Beckett called, and she looked up half expecting to see Ronon in the infirmary. It had become her job to patch up the warrior's sparring injuries. With the exception of Dr. Beckett, all of the other medical personal were terrified of the big warrior. Jen was terrified of him too, but what made her good was her ability to do her job despite her fears. However, Ronon wasn't anywhere in sight. Puzzled, Dr. Keller made her way over to Dr. Beckett.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I just wanted to make sure you knew that the Daedalus is leaving in three days," Dr. Beckett told her. "And that if you intended to return to earth, Dr. Weir is going to need your resignation papers by the end of the day."

"Oh," Jen said. "Actually, I was thinking about sticking it out for another three months."

"Really?" Beckett asked and Jen nodded. "That's wonderful lass. I'm glad to hear it. Quite honestly I had no idea what I was going to do without you here."

"Well, fortunately you won't have to find out," Jen said. "At least not for another three months."

She didn't think about the Daedalus again, because she had made her decision to stay and right now she didn't want to overanalyze it. If she did, she'd probably come to the realization that she had made a mistake, and unfortunately there was no going back now.

So, four days later she was sitting in the infirmary looking over medical files when Ronon Dex walked into the infirmary with his latest injury. Jen sighed, but by now she was used to this and set to work on gathering the stitching supplies.

"Hey Doc," Ronon said, hopping onto one of the medical beds. Jen looked up to see what he wanted, but to her relief he was addressing Dr. Beckett. "Who are you going to get to patch me up now that Dr. Keller is gone?"

"What?" Dr. Beckett asked, clearly startled by the question.

"Keller, didn't she go back with the Daedalus?"

"She's right over there, son," Beckett said, pointing to her. Jen summoned up enough courage to give Ronon a dirty look as she brought the supplies over. She was looking back down at her feet by the time she reached him though. Beckett nodded to both of them before retreating quickly.

"You're still here," Ronon observed as Keller got to work.

"So? A lot of people are still here," she muttered.

"Yeah," Ronon agreed. "But a lot were convinced you would be leaving. In fact, a lot of people lost a lot of money."

Oh seriously? People had bet on whether or not she would stay on Atlantis? Well, of course they would. A lot of the new personal weren't cut out to live on Atlantis, but Jen had thought she had proved otherwise. Sure, Dr. Beckett had checked with her, but she was sure that he had known that she wasn't going to leave. He just wanted to make sure she knew about her options. Of all the people on the base, she thought that she had at least proved to Ronon that she was qualified to stay on.

"And are you going to be losing some money?" she finally summoned the courage to ask as she was placing the gauze over his stitches.

"Nope," Ronon said, jumping off the medical bed. "I actually won some from McKay. So, thanks Doc."

Once he was gone, Jen started to clean the supplies. As she worked, her cheeks flushed with pride and she couldn't keep the smile off her lips. So she had proven to at least one person that she had what it took to stay in Atlantis, and that almost made everything she had gone through in the last three months worth it.


	3. The Return

_We're taking a bit of a jump through time here. This takes place in season three and is a tag for the Return. _

* * *

She had hated leaving Atlantis. It had hurt more than she had anticipated. Upon returning to her home in Wisconsin, Jen Keller found herself depressed and withdrawn. Who'd have thought that an alien city she couldn't wait to get away from could have affected her this much?

More than anything, she was lonely. She missed the people she had worked with on Atlantis, especially Dr. Beckett. She had been able to talk with him about anything and now she had lost that. She couldn't even talk to her dad the way she used to. The Atlantis mission was classified, and it wasn't like her dad would believe her anyway. No, the adventure was over now. The Lanteans had taken their city back and the humans of earth were no longer welcome.

And then it had come- the glorious, marvelous call from the Air Force. The Lanteans had been killed by the Asuran Replicators, who in turn had been destroyed by Colonel Sheppard and his team. The Atlantis team was returning to the city, and they wanted to know if she was interested in rejoining the team.

"Are you kidding?" Jen asked. "Of course I want to go back!"

So she packed up her bags, kissed her dad goodbye and jumped on the first flight to Colorado. Upon arriving at Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Jen joined about thirty other staff members and boarded a puddle jumper, flew threw the gate and within a half hour found herself back in the wonderfully terrifying city of Atlantis. Why had she been so desperate to come back again?

She felt better about her decision to return upon entering the infirmary. This was her space; where she felt most comfortable and that would never change.

"Dr. Keller!" Dr. Beckett cried when he saw her. "Welcome back lass."

"Hi Dr. Beckett," she said, giving him a hug. "I heard that you went on a bit of an adventure."

"Aye," Dr. Beckett sighed. "And between you and me- never again. I think I've had enough adventuring to last me a life time."

"You always say that after an adventure," Jen teased.

"This time I mean it," Beckett said, winking as he left her to her work.

The next few days passed without incident and Jen felt herself falling back into her regular routine of patching up the SGA teams after their 'routine missions that got out of hand'. Still, she didn't feel completely at home until a familiar alien ducked into the infirmary.

"Another sparring accident?" Jen asked, leaving her desk and coming up behind Ronon. He jumped and whirled around to face her and Jen instinctively took a step back. He was a big, scary, alien warrior after all.

"You came back?" he blurted.

"You're not hurt," Jen replied, looking him over and not seeing blood anywhere.

"Oh, no," he agreed. "I was just making the rounds- to see who came back. You came back."

Jen closed her mouth and nodded grimly. Really, after all of this, she had hoped that someone would realize how much the city had come to mean to her. "Don't sound so surprised," she finally told Ronon. "I never left when the option presented itself."

"Yeah," he agreed. "But coming back is a lot more difficult than leaving." He nodded to her. "I'll see you around," he added before moving around her to leave the infirmary.

"I can't wait for your next injury," Keller muttered. She heard him laugh as he made as way down the hall and she sighed. Just another day in the ancient city of Atlantis.


	4. Sunday

_We're still in season three here and I'm sorry to say that this is a tag to Sunday. Thanks to everyone for reviews. Warm Fuzzies all around!_

* * *

The office was a mess. A complete and utter, total mess. Jen didn't think she could handle it. No, scratch that- she couldn't handle it. She didn't even know where to start cleaning. She didn't even know if she wanted to start cleaning. This was Dr. Beckett's office with his files that had his notes scribbled all over them. This was his mess, and they just expected her to clean it and claim it as her own? She didn't know if she could do that. No, she knew she couldn't do it.

She had been sitting in Dr. Beckett's office (her office? no, that didn't sound right, not yet, not ever) for a few hours now. She had just been staring at his desk, unsure about what to do about it. Despite the mess, it seemed so impersonal right now. All of his belongings had been sent back to earth with his body. All that was left on his desk was the mess of papers and files that Jen now had to sort through as she tried to make his office her own.

Jen hadn't wanted to become the new Head of Medicine for the Atlantis Expedition- ever. She wasn't an administrator, she was a doctor. She enjoyed being a doctor and she never had ambitions to be anything more than that. Since she didn't have ambitions, she didn't have a clue as to what Dr. Weir had wanted when she had called Jen into her office a couple hours ago.

_"Dr. Keller," Dr. Weir greeted when she stepped into the office._

_"Dr. Weir," she replied, settling down opposite Weir. _

_"I'm going to be frank with you," Dr. Weir said. "I know it may seem early to be talking about this, but I am desperate for a new head of medicine right now."_

_"Do you have anyone in mind?" Dr. Keller asked. "I could offer references for anyone who works in the infirmary. I know them all."_

_"I was actually looking through Dr. Beckett's staff reports. In each and every one, he's always spoken very highly of you." Dr. Weir gave her a very pointed look and Jen's eyes widened in surprise._

_"Oh no," she said, shaking her head. "Nononono!"_

Unfortunately, Jen Keller (doctor, not administrator) had found herself pitted against the greatest diplomat on Earth (in Atlantis too). She didn't stand a chance and soon found that she had agreed to be Acting Head of Medicine for the Atlantis expedition. Dr. Beckett's office was now her office until the IOA appointed a new Head of Medicine. Jen hoped that it was soon, because she couldn't do this.

"Don't touch me!" an all too familiar voice yelled. Jen sighed as she stood up and left Dr. Beckett's office. She wasn't at all surprised to see Ronon sitting on one of the medical beds. He probably had another sparring injury. Another doctor was trying to tend to his injury, but the poor doctor was shaking so badly that Ronon wasn't willing to have anything to do with it.

"I've got it, doctor," Jen said, coming up behind the poor fool who had tried to treat Ronon Dex. The doctor gave her a grateful look before rushing off to handle something else.

"Where were you?" Ronon asked as she started to get to work. "I asked for you when I came in, but that little creep kept insisting that you were busy and couldn't be bothered."

"I was in Dr. Beckett's office," she said as she started work on stitching him up. "I'm trying to get all of the medical files he made in order."

"They gave you _that_ job," Ronon asked with disgust.

"Yeah," Jen agreed. "I'm the acting head of medicine right now."

Ronon's eyes widened. "Really? Congratulations. So, does that mean that you're going to dump me off on some other poor fool like Dr. Beckett did?"

"First I would have to find a fool who isn't scared of you," Jen muttered, blinking back the tears that had started to build in her eyes. She didn't want to think about Dr. Beckett now and she especially didn't want to think about how wonderful he had been to her during her first few days in Atlantis.

"Hey, are you alright?" Ronon asked. "I don't need you going all weepy on me right now."

"You know, would it have killed you to sit still for a couple days?" Jen snapped. "I mean really, Dr. Beckett just died, half of the infirmary was nearly blown to bits. What could posses you to go get yourself banged when we're in this shape. Couldn't you have just waited a couple days until we got over this?"

"Sorry," Ronon murmured. "But doesn't this help?"

"What help?"

"Working through it? Doesn't that help?"

"No, it doesn't help," Jen said. "It doesn't help when I haven't even had a chance to sit down and cry until my eyes dry out! It doesn't help when I keep thinking that I should have been here! It doesn't help when I think about all of the stupid things I had been doing that day instead of helping him! It doesn't help when I'm the one who has to run this department! It doesn't help when I am the one who has to clean up his office!"

"Sorry," Ronon said again. "But, for me, it helps. Fighting helps. It always has."

"Well good for you," Keller said softly.

"I keep thinking about that day," he continued. "I go over it in my head and I wonder if there was anything we could have done to save him. If we could have figured out what was going on sooner or dragged him out of that room or…"

"Yeah, me too," Jen agreed as she finished patching him up.

"Thanks Doc," he said, jumping off the bed.

"Hey, as a favor to me," Jen said, "the only doctor who will put up with you, take it easy for a few days."

Ronon nodded. "No problem."

"Thank you."


	5. Adrift Lifeline

_And we make the jump to season four. This takes place between Adrift and Lifeline. _

* * *

What she really needed was some sleeping pills. That was the only way she was going to get any sleep right now. But the sleeping pills were down in the infirmary and she didn't want to go down there right now. As long as she stayed up in her room trying to sleep, they'd feel guilty about calling her for help. If she went down there, they wouldn't feel so guilty about asking and soon she'd get caught up in something. Then she'd never get any sleep.

Besides, she didn't want the sleeping pills anyways. That would require a full eight hours of sleep, and right now they just didn't have that kind of time. They were lost somewhere in the galaxy with only a shield to protect the city from certain doom. Soon that shield would disappear, since they were rapidly running out of power. Since she wasn't an optimist by any stretch of the imagination, Jennifer Keller decided that she wanted to be awake when their shield finally failed them.

"Dr. Keller, please report to the infirmary."

Jen groaned, wondering what they could possibly want. Before she had gone off to try and get some sleep, she had taken a moment to check in on everyone. Dr. Weir was fine (thank god), Dr. Zelenka was fine, Ronon was fine. Everyone had been fine. What sort of disaster could have possibly happened since she had left the infirmary forty-five minutes ago?

She stepped down into the infirmary and looked around. Everything appeared to be in order, except for the fact that her favorite patient was back. She didn't know what Ronon was doing here and she didn't care. Right now he wasn't her problem.

"Hey," she said, going over to the desk of one of her doctors. "You called."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Ronon's here. He needs his bandages changed."

"You have got to be kidding me?" Jen snapped. "Can't someone else handle him for one bandage change and let me get some sleep? Didn't you take care of getting that glass out of his shoulder while I was trying to save Dr. Weir?"

"Yeah, and do you know what he tried to do?" the doctor asked. "He tried to pull the glass out of his shoulder, all by himself. I'm sorry, Dr. Keller, but the guy is crazy. I don't want anything to do with him."

"Wonderful," Jen growled, stomping over to handle Ronon's bandages.

He stood up when he saw her. "Hey Doc-"

"Sit down and shut up," Jen ordered, and he promptly sat back down on the medical bed. "Would it kill you to start treating my doctors with respect? I just spent the entire day trying to save Dr. Weir's life and right now, I would really love the chance to get some sleep. Unfortunately, I just got a call to come down here and clean your bandages because my doctors are too terrified to get anywhere near you. So, I ask you again, would it kill you to put the fierce look, the imposing attitude and the reckless behavior aside for one day and let another doctor treat you so I can get some sleep?"

Ronon just stared at her. Jen felt her cheeks flush as she realized what she had just said. Okay, maybe that wasn't the best thing to say to him with their imminent doom right around the corner, but she was angry damn it. She hadn't slept in hours, she had just saved their leaders life using _nano technology_ and their imminent doom _was_ right around the corner. She felt as though she had every right to order Ronon to stop harassing her doctors.

"Sorry, Doc," Ronon said as she finished up replacing his bandages. "I'll tryand be better during the next crisis."

"What next crisis?" Jen asked, her bad mood suddenly deflated. Imminent doom and all.

"You didn't hear?" Ronon asked. "McKay found a way out of this. We're going to steal one of those power things from the replicators."

"You're going on a mission?" Jen asked. "But you're hurt?" Ronon raised an eyebrow, because not like being hurt ever made a difference when you were going on a dangerous mission to the _replicator _home world. "Whatever," she muttered. "But if you come back injured, I am not taking care of you."

"Right," Ronon agreed, hopping off the medical bed and leaving the room. Jen watched him go and with a sigh she went back to Dr. Beckett's office. It wasn't like she was going to get any sleep now, even with sleeping pills.


	6. Doppelganger

_Okay, so I've been seriously debating posting this one, because I was bad ::slaps wrist:: Very bad. This is the scene from Doppelganger- right after Keller's nightmare and during Ronon's. This scene is important because it's pretty much the first time Ronon and Keller share screen time. I had to get into Jen's head during this, because I personally feel it's a turning point for how she looks at Ronon because she sees him vulnerable for the first time. This was really more of an exercise for me to see if I could get into Keller's head, and I felt the need to share. So, I know I was bad ::slaps wrist again:: Please don't call me on it. I realize how bad this is ::slaps wrist a few more times for good measure::_

* * *

She tried to act calm as she made her way down to the infirmary. She was already known for being almost as bad as Dr. McKay when it came to phobias, so she didn't want anyone to know how badly a simple nightmare had shaken her. Luckily it was the middle of the night and there was no one around to see her hands shaking or hear her deep, trembling breaths. 

The infirmary looked so deserted right now. She had worked night shifts before, sitting in Dr. Beckett's office (her office? no, that still didn't sound right) waiting for people to come in with whatever problem they might have. Still, right now it seemed so empty. There wasn't a doctor in the main room. All of the ones on duty were probably at their desks in the other room. It unnerved her to see it like this- empty and dark, especially after her nightmare.

She went straight to the medical cabinet, unlocked it and pulled out a bottle of sleeping pills. The very same sleeping pills she had given Teyla hours earlier. Oh- Teyla! Jen wondered if she should give the other woman a call, just in case she was- No. It was just a nightmare! Teyla was fine and probably enjoying a good nights sleep. She didn't need Jen to bother her right now.

She shut the cabinet, locked it, turned around and nearly jumped out of her skin. There was Ronon, right behind her. Somehow the big, imposing alien had managed to sneak up on her. How could someone that tall manage to move so quietly? A moment later, Colonel Sheppard appeared behind him. Jen was almost more freaked out to see him, especially after that awful nightmare.

"Sorry Doc," Ronon said. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"We were sparring," Sheppard said in explanation. "I got in a lucky shot."

"It's the middle of the night," Jen argued as Ronon turned to glare at Sheppard.

"Maybe for you," Ronon replied.

Right, of course, what had she been thinking? This was _Ronon_ after all. "Sit down, let me have a look." Ronon hopped onto the medical bed and turned his head so she could see the cut on his eyebrow. "You're going to need stitches," she told him, and she couldn't help but look at Colonel Sheppard as she said this. Maybe she was still asleep and that awful nightmare was still going on. Fortunately, instead of wearing a look of absolute glee, Colonel Sheppard looked sheepish. Not a nightmare, then.

"Guess I taught him too much, huh?" Ronon asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Jen agreed, watching Sheppard squirm with guilt.

"You know, you don't need to stick around, I'm fine," Ronon told Sheppard.

"You sure?" the colonel asked.

"Yeah," Ronon agreed. "I want a rematch tomorrow though."

"Yeah, that's what I was afraid of," Sheppard muttered. "Goodnight," he added cheerfully before leaving.

"See you tomorrow," Ronon said.

Jen couldn't help but stare after Colonel Sheppard as he left, relieved that he was finally gone. Nightmare or not, she didn't want him around her until that awful dream was completely banished from her mind.

"Something wrong?" Ronon asked, breaking her thoughts.

Jen shook her head quickly. "No, nothing," she said, leaning forward to get a better look at his wound.

Ronon's expression changed for a moment, almost as if he was struggling with something. Finally, he sighed. "I don't think he's seeing anyone, you know."

"Oh no," Jen said quickly as her cheeks flushed. "No, that's-that's quite alright." She looked over at the medical bed so that she wouldn't have to look at Ronon. "You know, this would be easier if you lay down."

"Okay," Ronon said as he swung his over the bed and lay down. Jen walked around him and began to prepare her supplies. When she looked up again, Ronon had fallen asleep. Fallen asleep- right before he was about to receive stitches. No wonder the rest of her staff was terrified of him.

But she wasn't anymore, especially not now. Watching him sleep, she couldn't even reconcile the imposing alien with the man in front of her. And, well, when he wasn't scowling or frowning or glaring his face was actually kinda nice to look at.

Jen's cheeks flushed and she quickly banished those thoughts. This was _Ronon_ after all. Even if he was good looking, he was still a big, tall, scary alien whom she didn't want to run into outside of the infirmary. She stitched him up, and that was as far as she wanted to go with their relationship.

Suddenly Ronon sucked in a deep breath and jumped awake. Jen could help but jump as well as he grabbed her wrist.

"I'm really sorry," Jen stammered. "Did I- did I hurt you?"

Ronon kept his grip on her wrist as he looked around. He seemed surprised to find himself in the infirmary, but he settled down when he saw that it was just her in there with him. "What the-" he whispered before looking at her. "No, no," he said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" He trailed off, as if he was unsure exactly what he was sorry for.

"You fell asleep," Jen told him.

Ronon shook his head. "I was having the strangest dream."

_With Colonel Sheppard?_ Jen wanted to ask, but she restrained herself. She didn't want to sound like an idiot, especially since Ronon already thought she had a thing for the colonel. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked instead.

"Yeah," Ronon said, nodding his head. "Fine."

Jen slowly reached for the thread from his stitches, afraid that any sudden moves would startle him again. "I'm almost done," she told him. Ronon took a deep breath as she continued her work and Jen suppressed a shudder. She definitely preferred imposing Ronon to terrified Ronon.


	7. Tabula Rasa

_Okay, just a quick clarification on the last chapter. I wasn't saying that it was bad, I was saying that I was being bad in writing it, figuring that it might keep me from being sued. But, I thank you all for the concerns over my wrists, they are both fine. I also thank everyone for reviews. I think I am becoming dependent on your support. _

_This is a tag for Tabula Rasa and be nice to it, because I'm pretty sure it's my favorite._

* * *

When she woke up the first thing she saw were the soldiers, gathering up people near her. They hadn't gotten to her yet, so she carefully pushed herself up onto her hands and knees and made a run for it. She heard the soldiers shouting behind her and she heard them firing their weapons, but she kept running and didn't look back. Soon the sound of the soldiers disappeared behind her and she paused long enough to catch her breath. 

She closed her eyes and tried to remember. She had just been a large room with a lot of people. She had been trying to help them- she didn't know why, it just felt right. But none of the people had wanted her help and so finally she had gone to sit on the steps. That was when the small man came in. He asked a lot of questions and she tried to answer them the best she could, because she wanted to help. He wanted to escape because… because… because he was looking for someone! That was it. The blonde woman said to listen to him. So they tried to escape. She had been hit by something and knocked out, but she had woken up and escaped before the soldiers had a chance to take her back to the room.

She started moving again. She didn't know why, just that it seemed like a good idea and the best way to stay away from the soldiers. She didn't know how long she spent wandering around hallways that all looked the same, but eventually she heard voices. 

"Hey!" She froze. She remembered that voice- the leader of the soldiers.

"Major!" a rough male voice snapped. "Lower your gun!"

"But sir!"

"Remember," another man said. "We're doing what he says."

"Yes sir."

"Ronon, Colonel Sheppard," a calm female voice said. "You made it."

"Barely," the rough male said. "How'd things go on your end?"

"Not much better," the woman replied. "But Rodney was able to complete his program. I can distribute the medicine now."

"Good," the rough male said. 

Since they were distracted now, she slowly started to back away from where the voices where coming from. She ended up running into a wall and squeaked in surprise. 

"What was that?" One of the soldiers again.

"Stay here, major," the rough male ordered. "I'll go check it out."

She considered running again, but didn't have time as a big man with a raised gun rounded the corner on her. She shrieked and threw up her hands. "Please don't shoot me!" she cried.

"Doc?" he asked, lowering his weapon so she could see his face.

"You!" she said.

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You remember me, Doc?"

"Yes, you're…" she trailed off because she couldn't remember a name. 

He sighed and shook his head. "Come on, Doc, let's get you somewhere safe."

"You're hurt!" she said, because that much she could remember. He was always hurt and she was always trying to help him. "Where are you hurt?"

He gave her a strange look, like he was trying to figure something out. "I'm not hurt, Doc."

"Then… why are you here?"

He looked around as he began to slowly approach her. "We're in the hallway, Doc. It's alright for me to wander the hallway when I'm not hurt."

"But," she shook her head, trying to remember. "You only come to see me when you're hurt and need my help."

"That's the infirmary, Doc," he told her. "Where you work- where you help people. This is the hallway and right now you're the one who's in need of help. So, why don't you come with me, Doc, and we'll get you some help."

"What does it mean?" she asked. "'Doc', what does that mean?"

"It's short for doctor."

"Is that my name?"

He chuckled. "No, it's a title. A doctor is someone who helps other people. You're a doctor, and your name is Jennifer Keller. Doctor Jennifer Keller."

"But you call me 'Doc'"

"Yeah," he agreed. "That's what I call all doctors." He held out his hand. "Will you come with me now? I'll take you somewhere safe."

"Away from the soldiers?" she asked.

"You don't need to worry about the soldiers anymore, Doc, I promise."

Tentatively she reached out and took his hand. That was she heard a click and a release resonating throughout the walls. She tried to jump back, but his hand closed tightly around hers and kept her from running off. Her eyes turned upward as some sort of green gas began to fall from the ceiling.

"What's that?" she yelled, trying to struggle out of his grip.

"It's medicine," he said. Although his voice was rough, she found herself calming down as he spoke. "It'll make you better. Just take a few deep breaths."

She nodded and took several long, deep breaths. Unfortunately she didn't feel better, instead her dizziness got worse. "What's wrong?" she cried as she stumbled forward. 

"It's alright, Doc. It's just the medicine, its working."

She stumbled again and he stepped closer, wrapping his arms around her as her knees buckled and she fell against his chest. Everything grew fuzzy, then hazy, and then it started to go black. Still, despite everything that had happened earlier and the terror she had lived with, right now, in his arms, she felt safe.


	8. Missing

_Tag for Missing._

* * *

The medical staff of the Atlantis expedition was in an upset. This had never happened before. They had never even considered the possibility of it happening. Way back in the deep recesses of their mind, they had acknowledged the possibility, but all of them had firmly believed that such a thing would never happen. And now it was happening. 

Dr. Jennifer Keller and Ronon Dex had stopped talking.

The medical staff didn't know what to do now. They were all terrified of the big warrior. Keller was the only one who had ever been willing to deal with him. Unfortunately, Ronon was unwilling to deal with her right now. That had the staff in a fury as they tried to bribe each other into treating Ronon. So far it had been determined that there was no amount of money or no item too cool to be worth the hassle of dealing with him.

The whole fiasco had started when Dr. Keller had returned from her mission to New Athos injured. At that point, everything had been fine between her and Ronon. The big warrior had refused to leave her side and had even helped her up to the infirmary. That was where the trouble had started. While the other doctors had worked to wrap Keller's injured ankle, Ronon had begun to berate her for going off world without the proper defense training. Keller had heatedly replied that it was a peaceful mission to New Athos and not even Teyla had expected anything to go wrong, since she didn't bring a weapon. Ronon went on to call Dr. Keller naïve and irresponsible for not considering that even peaceful, routine missions could go horribly wrong. That sparked a shouting match between him and Dr. Keller, and finally the other doctors had gathered up their courage and kicked him out of the infirmary. 

They had hoped that would be the end of it. Dr. Keller was returning to earth for a few days leave, and once she returned the other doctors anticipated everything returning to normal. However, after Dr. Keller had left, Ronon had gone to Colonel Carter and demanded that weapons be carried on all missions no matter what and that all personal go through basic self defensive training. Carter had granted his first request right away and weapons were now mandatory for all off world travel. She had yet to make a decision on his second request, though. None of the scientists or medical personal wanted to take time out of their day for self defense lessons.

Jen Keller was no different, and she told Ronon right to his face when he came in for stitches not long after her return from earth. Ronon had coolly replied that he wanted another doctor to treat him, and Keller had happily handed him off to her staff. Things hadn't gotten any better since.

"Heyhey!"

Jen looked up and grinned as Lieutenant Laura Cadman stepped into Dr. Beckett's office and settled down in the chair across from the desk. "Hey yourself," Jen replied. "What blew up in your face this time?"

Cadman laughed. "Why must you assume that I only come here when I'm hurt? Can't a girl come visit her friend without being accused of an ulterior motive?"

"Laura, you only came up here to visit Carson when you were injured," Jen said. "Why should I believe that I hold a higher status in your book than he did?"

Cadman laughed again, but this time it didn't really meet her eyes, and Jen felt awful about brining Carson up in their conversation. Cadman had been the first person outside of the infirmary to greet her when she had first came to Atlantis. At that point, Laura and Dr. Beckett had been something of an item and sometimes Jen suspected that some of Cadman's minor injuries were just an excuse to see the good doctor. They had called it off a few months before Carson's death but had still remained close enough that his death had affected her.

Despite that, Cadman and Keller had remained close friends over the past two years. They went running together almost every morning and almost always had breakfast together after that. Jen was glad to see her now, especially since this whole thing with Ronon had gotten so out of hand.

"You know me too well," Cadman sighed. "No injuries, but I am the bearer of bad news."

"Oh no," Jen groaned. She knew what was coming.

"Colonel Carter just made it official. All Atlantis personal are required to have basic self defense training."

"Damn it," Jen cursed, slamming her fists down on the desk. 

"Hey, listen," Cadman said. "I think you know that you need this. As head of medicine, you're going to be going on a lot more off world missions. Even Carson took some basic lessons. Granted he wasn't very good, but…"

"Yeah, I know," Jen agreed. She really wasn't upset about the lessons. She was upset that she had lost to Ronon.

"I do have some good news though," Cadman added. "I've just been certified to teach these self defense classes. I thought we could cut our runs short in the morning and I could give you yours then."

Jen grinned. "Thanks. That's a great idea, actually. I doubt I'd do very well in a real class."

Cadman scoffed. "You'd do fine, but with personal one on one lessons with me, you'll be able to kick Ronon's butt the next time he talks down to you."

Jen laughed, even though she didn't believe it. The only people who could beat Ronon were Colonel Sheppard and Teyla. Still, it was a nice thought and it put her in a better mood throughout the day. In fact, she was in such a good mood that she agreed to take the graveyard shift for another doctor who wasn't feeling well. She wasn't thinking when she agreed to it, which was why she was mildly surprised when Ronon stepped into the infirmary, took one look at her and turned around to leave.

"Ronon!" she cried rushing after him, since her medical eye had quickly caught his limp. "What happened? Should you even be walking on that?"

"You're not supposed to be here," Ronon growled as he tried to get past her. "I checked. You're not on duty tonight."

"I switched with another doctor," Jen said, her cheeks flushing. When had this fight gotten so bad that he was checking the roster to avoid her? "Come on back to the infirmary, Ronon. Whatever is wrong with your leg, you need to have it looked at."

Ronon grudgingly turned around and started back to the infirmary. Jen slipped up next to him and wrapped an arm around his waist. She felt him stiffen for a moment, but then he leaned on her and allowed her to help him back into the infirmary and onto one of beds. She leaned down and pulled off his boot on his bad foot. It took some work, and her eyes widened when she saw why. His ankle was swelling up. 

"What did you do?" she demanded as she went to get an ice pack.

"You don't want to know," he growled as she came back around and wrapped the pack around his ankle. "Is that it? Can I go?"

"No, you can't go," Jen said. "Not until the swelling goes down a bit and I wrap it. Even then I may make you stay the night." Ronon snarled at her and Jen chuckled. "Those tactics might work with my staff, but not with me. I know how to stand up to you."

"Yeah, but I still win in the end," he gloated, and Jen felt her anger return at how he had been acting since her trip to New Athos. In fact, her anger was so great that she did something she never would have done otherwise. She twisted his ankle ever so slightly and was rewarded by him yelping in pain.

"Just because you may think you know what is the best course of action for me doesn't mean you get to make those decisions for me," Jen told him. 

"So who does when you're too stubborn to make them for yourself?"

"While spending a night in a tiny hunt praying that I'd still be alive the next morning, I promised myself that if I got through it alive, I'd ask Cadman to teach me a few things," Jen admitted. "But when we got here and you started to go at me like that- I just got so angry! I can't believe you think so little of me! I know how to take care of myself."

Ronon looked away from her and Jen returned her attention to the ice pack around his ankle. It was ironic, in a way. It was her ankle injury that it had started this whole mess. Maybe his would fix it.

"I didn't handle that well," he finally admitted, looking back at her. "Knowing what you had gone through I just… I didn't handle it well."

"Well, I acted rather childish too," Jen admitted, rechecking his ankle. The swelling had gone down, so she grabbed some bandages and wrapped it. When she finished, she looked back up at him. "There you go, all done. It'll take a few days to heal, so try and take it easy."

"Thanks doc," Ronon said, jumping off the table and leaving the infirmary.

And the medical staff of the Atlantis expedition began to breathe easier.


	9. Quarantine

_I am sorry to say that this is the last chapter until April. I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow and I will not have computer access till I get back in April. _

_I have a theory about Quarantine. From what I think I know about Jennifer Keller, I do not think she would have sought Ronon out for dinner if all that stood between them was an almost kiss. I think she would have seen Ronon, freaked out and run off to have dinner at the infirmary. Thus we have a tag for Quarantine, and my personal opinion of what happened between when the doors whooshed open and when they met up later for dinner._

* * *

It was so strange when she took the time to think about it. While she had been patching Ronon Dex up for the past two years, she didn't really know him at all. Well, she did know him. She knew that he liked to fight, and that he was reckless with it. She knew that he could handle a lot of pain. She knew that he had grown to care about her, as his tantrum after her last off world mission proved.

Over the last few hours she had learned more about him than she had learned over the past two years, and that still added up to very little. She knew that there had been someone very special to him on Sateda, that she had been a doctor, and that she had died in a Wraith culling. Jen also knew that she reminded Ronon of this woman and she couldn't quite decide if that was a good or bad thing.

But right now, sitting next to him on the floor of the infirmary, leaning against one of the beds, that didn't matter. She felt him shift closer to her, and she couldn't help but move closer as well, resting her head on his shoulder. They sat like that for a few minutes, and then Jen felt Ronon shift again. She looked up to see him staring at her, and then he began to lean forward. Jen couldn't help but lean towards him, already wondering what it would feel like when his lips finally brushed against hers.

And then the lights went out. 

They both glanced up, surprised. Jen didn't have much time to wonder what was going on as Ronon started to move forward again.

And then the lights came back on.

They looked up again right as the doors whooshed open. As much as Jen wanted to go back to that moment and feel Ronon's lips against hers, the doctor in her took over as she jumped to her feet.

"Help me with the bags," she told Ronon, grabbing two of the medical bags they had packed while waiting for the doors to open. Ronon scrambled to his feet and grabbed the others. Together they made their way out into the hallway towards the control room. Almost immediately they ran into Colonel Carter, Colonel Sheppard, Major Lorne and a couple of the technicians from the gate room.

"What's going on?" Jen asked Colonel Carter. "How many are sick?"

"No one's sick," Colonel Sheppard stated. "It was a computer malfunction. One that Rodney is going to fix just as soon as we find him."

"You might want to have the infirmary ready though," Major Lorne added, eyeing Sheppard warily. "Just in case people, ah, hurt themselves trying to open doors."

Jen thought about hers and Ronon's attempt to blow up the infirmary door using an oxygen tank and nodded. "Good idea."

"You should probably be expecting McKay too," Colonel Carter added, "and whatever fake disease he's created during this."

"Right," Jen agreed as she watched them go. She looked back at Ronon and gave him a sheepish grin. "Help me carry these back? After that you can go do whatever."

Ronon nodded and followed her back to the infirmary. They unpacked the bags of supplies, and by that point people were beginning to make their way to the infirmary (doctors, patients and sometimes both at the same time), and Jen really didn't have much time to wonder about what had almost happened between her and Ronon. 

As Colonel Carter had expected, Rodney was her first patient, brought in by Katie Brown and a rather irritated Colonel Sheppard. 

"For the last time, Rodney," Sheppard was saying as Jen returned with the results from the tests she had run on Rodney. "There was no outbreak. It was a computer malfunction caused by an atmospheric storm. You. Are. Not. Sick."

"Oh, then how come I feel like I'm about to die?" McKay shot back.

"Because you are a hypochondriac and a pain in the ass," Sheppard snapped.

"I'm afraid that Colonel Sheppard is right," Jen said. Rodney gave her an evil look while Sheppard smirked. "I meant about there being no disease," Jen stammered. "You're in perfect health."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Did you check-"

"Perfect health," Jen repeated.

"But-"

"Isn't there something you need to fix?" Jen asked.

"Oh? Right," McKay said, jumping off the table and wandering off to fix whatever needed fixing. 

"Thanks," Colonel Sheppard said as he and Dr. Brown followed McKay out.

Next was Dr. Zelenka, brought in by Major Lorne. 

"I tell you, I am fine," Zelenka was telling his escort as Keller joined them.

"What seems to be the problem?" she asked.

"He's favoring his wrist," Lorne said as Zelenka began to mutter angrily in Czech. "Colonel Carter says that he's not allowed to help with the repairs until someone looks at it."

It turned out that Zelenka had sprained his wrist. After wrapping it in a brace and giving him some pain medication, Keller sent him back to the repairs with Lorne as his escort. Zelenka was still muttering in Czech, but he was less angry now and more annoyed.

After that came a steady stream of people who had injured themselves while trying to make explosives. It was because of this that Jen wasn't at all surprised when Laura Cadman finally made her way down to the infirmary.

Jen heaved a heavy sigh as she stared as the burns on Cadman's hand, which had been haphazardly bandaged several hours ago.

"It's really not as bad as it looks," Cadman said helpfully. "And I had to try something. I was locked in a room with Sergeant Drey and you know how he is."

"Hopeless?" Jen supplied as she began to clean the burns.

"Exactly," Cadman agreed. "Were you stuck in here?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't alone. Ronon was here too."

"Ronon?" Cadman asked, perking up. "What happened?"

"Um, well first we gather up the medical supplies, because we honestly thought there was a disease on the loose. Then we tried to blow open the door using an oxygen tank. The door opened not long after that."

"That's it?" Cadman asked.

"Yeah," Jen lied, figuring that it would probably be a bad idea to tell Laura about the almost kiss. "Why?"

"Because Ronon's standing outside the infirmary, and according your nurses, he's been there all afternoon."

"Ronon's outside?" Jen asked, and she couldn't help but looking at the door.

"Something did happen!" Cadman gasped, bouncing a little on the bed. "Do tell!"

"Nurse," Jen called, waving one over. "Her burn needs to be cleaned and after that it should be an easy patch up. I'm going to take a quick break."

"Jen!" Laura shrieked.

"Yes, doctor," the nurse said as Jen practically ran out of the infirmary.

"Ronon," she said when she saw him, standing right outside the infirmary, leaning against the wall. He straightened up when she called his name, and Jen came to a stop in front of him. "Um…"

"You busy?" he asked. 

"I'm on break," she replied.

"You want something to eat?"

"Um, no, not yet," Jen said, looking around the hallways. "Walk with me?" Ronon nodded and together they began to make their way down one of the more deserted halls of Atlantis. "Listen, things can't really be awkward between us because I'm the only doctor here who will treat you. So, pretending that it never happened probably isn't the best way to go about this, but maybe-"

"You want to pretend that it never happened?" Ronon interrupted.

"Well, no, but- we were locked in a room alone together for several hours," Jen said, careful not to meet his gaze, because she desperately wanted to know what would have happened if they had been able to complete their almost kiss. "People do weird things during trials like that. It's probably better to just put it behind us, don't you agree?"

"No."

"Well, what do you want to do?" Jen asked, finally looking up at him.

"This," Ronon said, leaning down and pressing his lips against hers. As he drew away, Jen stumbled a little. This felt just like her vertigo, except she was falling up instead of down. "Doc, are you alright?"

Jen nodded as the dizziness began to fade. "Do that again," she whispered. Ronon grinned and brushed his lips against hers again. This kiss didn't last as long, but it felt nicer and Jen couldn't help but lick her lips as he drew away. 

"You really want to pretend that didn't happen?" Ronon asked. Jen shook her head. "Good."

"Um, I should probably be heading back to the infirmary?" Jen said as she began to back away from him. "Will I see you at dinner?" Ronon nodded. After giving him one last smile, Jen turned and practically raced back to the infirmary. She hoped that Laura was still there. She really needed to talk to her friend about this one.


	10. Outcast

_Happy April! Er, May? June? Okay, happy July. So I'm a little late back from my vacation. Saw the Atlantis Season Premier last night and the muse started going again. So, updates should be more frequent now, but not nearly as frequent as they were when I was first posting, I'm sorry to say. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed. I only wish that I could have used those reviews to jump start the muse and get back to this sooner.  
_

_This lovely, and sadly little, story is a tag to Outcast. More should be coming soon, hopefully._

* * *

Of course the infirmary would be busy on the one day she actually needed to be done working on time, Jen decided. Technically she wasn't supposed to be working at all. She had promised him that she would be free. But then one of her doctors had gotten sick and the only other one who could take on their shift had just come off a night shift. Jen had managed to split the shift with another doctor- she would work the morning and they would work the evening.

Despite how busy the infirmary was, Jen thought she was doing an exceptionally good job of keeping her eye on the clock. Only an hour now. All she had to do was make sure she didn't get caught up in anything and she would be home free. Ronon would never know that she had worked today.

Her big, scary alien was returning from Earth this evening. He had gone there with Colonel Sheppard, whose father had just passed away. He and Jen had made plans before he left- for the night he returned. He had made her promise not to work that day, because of her habit of losing track of time. He didn't want to have to hunt her down and then wait for her to finish whatever she was doing. Jen had argued that she wasn't nearly as bad as he claimed, but eventually promised not to be working the day he came back from Earth.

"Dr. Keller?" one of the nurses called. Jen took one last look at the clock before going to see what the nurse needed.

She had just finished running a lab test and was delivering it to another doctor when she caught sight of Ronon sitting on one of the medical beds. Jen glanced quickly at the clock and her jaw dropped. She should have left an hour and a half ago! Where had the time gone?

"Ronon?" she called as she made her way over to him. He started, and then frowned at her as she stopped in front of him. "I am so sorry, it's just one of my doctors was sick and I had to fill in. I meant to be out of here an hour ago, but I just-"

"Here, Ronon," another doctor said, leaning around her and handing Ronon a bottle of pills. He reached for it, but Jen beat him to it, snatching the bottle out of the doctor's hand and reading the label.

"Pain killers?" Jen asked, looking up at him. "What do you need pain killers for?"

"He says he's been feeling sore," the doctor supplied. Ronon growled and his glare hardened until the doctor got the hint and quickly retreated.

"You're feeling sore?" Jen repeated.

"It's nothing," Ronon said.

"You're taking pain killers," Jen said, shaking the bottle. "You won't even take a local when I'm giving you stitches. What happened?"

"I got roughed up-"

"At the funeral for Colonel Sheppard's father?" Jen asked in disbelief.

Ronon shook his head. "Someone built a replicator on earth. We had to stop it."

"Are you badly hurt?"

"Just bruises."

"So why do you need pain killers?"

"I don't want to think about the pain tonight," Ronon said, lifting his hand and running it through her hair. Jen flushed as she heard Ronon's unspoken words in her mind. _I want to think about you_.

"Dr. Keller," a nurse said. "We need those test results."

Jen stepped away from Ronon. "I just need to finish up with this. I'll only be a minute."

"I'll be waiting," he said, before he grinned. "Promise breaker."

"Watch it," Jen warned. "Or else I'll make you promise not to get hurt on your next off world mission or sparring session." She turned to go, but Ronon pulled her back and pressed his lips against hers.

"Dr. Keller!" the nurse called again, and Jen forced herself to push away from Ronon.

"Right back," she promised.

"I'll be waiting," he said again.


	11. Trio

_Tag to Trio_

* * *

"Good god!" Laura Cadman gasped as she collapsed to the ground at the end of the 'track' she and Jen ran every morning. A few steps ahead, Jen turned around and grinned.

"Laura?" she asked.

"I left for two weeks," Cadman panted, rolling onto her back. "Two weeks, and suddenly you're the fastest thing in Atlantis!"

"Water?" Jen asked, holding Cadman's water bottle above the woman's head. Cadman sat up and took the bottle from Jen, drinking half of it in one gulp.

"I take it you've been working out with our big, scary alien?" Cadman asked once she could breath normally again.

"I was," Jen agreed absently.

"So how are things on cloud nine?" Cadman asked, taking another drink of water.

"Um." Jen grabbed her own water bottle and sat down next to Cadman on the floor. She took a sip of water and looked at her friend. "We haven't actually talked in two or three days."

"Two or three days?" Cadman repeated.

"Four days, actually," Jen amended. "Since my last off world mission."

"I'm seeing a correlation here between you going off world and Ronon having a temper tantrum," Cadman muttered. "So what happened?"

"I have no idea," Jen admitted, taking another swallow. "I came back hurt, but it was just rope burn. I can't believe he'd be upset about that."

"So…" Cadman mused, staring into her water bottle. "There's nothing to the rumors about you and McKay?"

"McKay?" Keller repeated in disbelief. "What…? Where…?"

"I've just heard this from the rumor mill," Cadman said. "They're saying that you and McKay were seen together having a drink after your return from said mission."

"It was just a drink!" Jen exclaimed. "Someone needed to sit that guy down and explain women to him. Do you know that he nearly proposed to Katie Brown, took it back and then expected for things to continue on all fine and dandy between them?"

"No," Cadman said. "But that does explain Katie's decision to return to earth."

"Yeah," Jen agreed. "Colonel Carter and I had to explain to him that what he actually did was break up with her."

"Jesus," Cadman muttered. "And here I thought he learned something from the time I spent in his head." Jen ended up choking on her water with laughter. Cadman quickly shifted over to rub her friend's back until Jen could breath properly again. "Seriously, though, Jen" Cadman said softly. "What do you think Ronon would do if he heard those rumors before he heard anything from you?"

"Oh, you don't seriously think…?" Jen asked in disbelief. Cadman raised an eyebrow. "I have to go," Jen said, getting to her feet and rushing off to find Ronon.

"That's right!" Cadman yelled after her. "Go knock some sense into your man!"

She found Ronon in the gym, sparring against Colonel Sheppard. They were so focused on trying to beat each other up that they didn't notice her right away and Jen was too nervous to interrupt them. Sheppard saw her first and called for time out.

"Hi, Doc," he greeted. Ronon turned and when he saw her, he frowned in that scary way that had really intimidated her during her first few weeks in Atlantis. It seemed to be having the same effect now.

"Um, hi," Jen greeted, "I was hoping I could talk to Ronon for a minute."

"Is it medical?" Ronon asked, walking across the room and grabbing a towel.

"No," Jen said. "It's--" she glanced at Colonel Sheppard, wondering how much she should say. "It's personal."

"Can't right now," Ronon said. "See you later," he told Sheppard before leaving. Jen sighed, wondering how she was ever going to fix this. She should have sought him out earlier, instead of letting this stew. But she honestly couldn't believe that he thought there was something between her and _McKay_! It was one drink, damn it!

"Doc?" Sheppard asked and Jen turned to look at him. "Aren't you going to go after him?"

"What's the point?" Jen asked bitterly. She was going to kill McKay for this one. Or better yet, send him to Ronon.

"Doc, he really likes you," Sheppard said. "I mean _really_ likes you. Do you realize that we haven't had to manhandle him down to the infirmary in months? That sometimes he looks for excuses to go down there? This is serious, Doc. This thing with McKay just has him a little… upset."

"Nothing happened with McKay!" Jen snapped.

"That's what I've been telling him," Sheppard agreed. "And that's what Rodney told him at gunpoint. But I think he needs to hear it from you." Jen looked back at the door and Sheppard gave her a small shove. That was all motivation Jen needed and she took off running.

"Ronon!" she called when she caught up with him.

"Not now," Ronon said, trying to brush her off.

"What do you think I'm going to say, Ronon?" Jen demanded. "What are you so afraid of?"

"You want to do this here?" Ronon snapped. "Fine. I'll make it simple. We're over and done with. Go play with McKay."

"Tempting considering the way you've been acting!" Jen snarled, poking her finger into his chest. "Except I'm not with McKay, I'm with you and I don't want to be with McKay, I want to be with you!" There was a long paused. Jen sighed and crossed her arms in disgusted. What was it going to take to get through to this guy?

Finally, almost tentatively, Ronon spoke. "With me?" he asked.

"With you," Jen said in relief, leaning forward and resting her head against his chest. "It was just a drink between friends. It didn't mean anything. You just overreacted. Again."

"I didn't overreact last time," Ronon growled.

"You did," Jen said, standing up on her tip toes and giving him a quick kiss. "Is all forgiven?"

"Is it?" Ronon asked.

Jen gave him another kiss. "I have to get going. I'll see you later."

"Hey!" Ronon called as she started to walk away. "Am I forgiven or not?"

"I'll see you later," Jen repeated. She heard Ronon growl, and turned to see him returning to the gym. Not as busy as he had made out.

That evening she was treated to a movie in Ronon's quarters, flowers and chocolate. Jen had to admit, while John Sheppard wasn't at his best around women, he could certainly give out good tips on how to grovel back into a girl's favor.


	12. Midway

_Tag for Midway. Starts right after the fight between Ronon and Teal'c._

* * *

Jennifer Keller was not mad. No, not mad at all. Never mind that Rodney McKay had just come down to the infirmary, thinking he had something in his eye. When Jen asked him how this mysterious (and non-existent) object had entered his eye, Rodney told her about the fight between Ronon Dex and the Jaffa warrior Teal'c and how something had hit him in the eye when Ronon broke Teal'c sparring stick. After that, Teal'c and Ronon fought it out in a more manly fashion- using their fists. McKay went on to explain that Colonel Carter had broken up the fight soon after, and that Lorne was the only one who won any money off the fight, being the only one smart enough to bet that Colonel Carter would break the fight up before it became too serious.

But Jennifer Keller wasn't mad. Not mad at all, despite the fact that her big scary alien was leaving for earth in fifteen and he had not come to kiss her goodbye, like he promised. He was sneaking out on her because he didn't want her to find out about his fight with Teal'c and while she wasn't mad, she was going to get him for it.

She keyed open Ronon's door right as he was about to exit his room. He paused when he saw her and his eyes widened with surprise. "Doc," he greeted.

"Ronon," she replied sweetly. "You weren't by chance about to leave without saying goodbye, were you?"

"Something came up," he said gruffly, trying to move around her. "I'm gonna be late."

"Either you let me examine you here," Keller said through her teeth. "Or I'm going to drag you down to the infirmary for a full physical, complete lab tests. That'll take about a day. It'll certainly hold up your interview, and I don't think the IOA will be all that pleased with the reason."

Ronon stepped back into his room. Jen followed and allowed the door to close behind her. She silently looked over his bruises, making sure there wasn't anymore damage than what she could see.

"Who told you?" Ronon growled.

"McKay came down to the infirmary, thinking he had something in his eye," Jen said. "He replayed the whole scene quite eloquently, for him at least."

"You mad?" Ronon asked.

"What do you think?" Keller asked.

"Not a good time to ask a favor?"

"Depends on the favor."

"Get me out of the 24 hour quarantine on the Midway Station," Ronon said and Jen laughed. "Come on," he begged.

"I'm sorry," she said, controlling her laughter. "But I couldn't get you through that sort of loophole if you were an Ascended Ancient who couldn't possibly carry a disease. Little old germ infested you is out of the question."

"But I'm going to be stuck there with Teal'c," Ronon growled.

"And you're just going to have to learn how to play nice," Jen said, standing on her tiptoes to give Ronon a quick kiss. The door swung open then and Jen turned quickly to see Colonel Sheppard at the door.

"Doc," he greeted, nodding at her. "Um, Ronon, I understand this is preferred, but I don't think the IOA will be impressed."

"See you soon," Jen said, giving Ronon a chaste kiss on the cheek. "And good luck."

"It's going to be fine," Ronon told her. He left a kiss on her forehead before following John out of the room. Jen crossed her arms and tried to convince herself that everything was going to be fine. Unfortunately, she knew Ronon and the IOA too well to believe it.


End file.
